Summary: Inspired by Ep.128 of 'Har Yug Mai Aaega Ek Arjun'
I have changed a few things from the episode. The team doesn't die in a bomb blast, but Arjun is still framed for the crimes he didn't commit. He leaves ETF as shown in the show. In this story, Arjun visits Sakshi one night as he is injured while working on a case with Karan.
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Sakshi’s head snapped up when her doorbell rang at midnight. The thing was that she was used to the dangers which came with living alone. As a woman and also as an ex-crime journalist turned ETF’s member. She stood up from her bed where she was writing an article on her laptop and reached for the baton stick and her phone. She had Aisha’s number on the speed dial and her finger hovered over the phone's keypad.
The doorbell rang again and she tiptoed towards the door. Watching through the peephole she sighed in relief but also excitement. It was none other than ACP Arjun Rawte. She opened the door quickly.
“Arjun, you—what the—Arjun are you alright?” she kept her baton stick and her phone on the table beside the door as she gently pulled the ex-cop inside her flat. Arjun was holding onto his left arm which was covered in blood and though the wound was covered with a bandage the blood had seeped through it too.
She made him sit at the dining table and brought the first aid box from her room.
“Show me,” she ordered and Arjun didn’t fight back this time. He let her take a look at his wound. She gasped when she removed the dirty bandage from where it was wrapped just above the elbow, “Arjun, you need stitches for this!”
“No, I am not going to a doctor,” he said.
“Are you mad? Your shirt is covered in blood! And you could lose more if you don’t show it to a doctor.”
Arjun glared at her, but maybe it was the tiredness after losing blood that he gave up, “okay.”
Sakshi wrapped a fresh bandage around the wound before helping him stand up. They ended up going to the hospital on Sakshi’s scooty and Arjun held onto her for dear life while she drove. Soon enough they went to the 24/7 emergency and Arjun got the stitches, though the wait was long. Sakshi sat with him on the bed and finally asked the questions she wanted to ever since he showed up at her door.
“How did this happen?”
Arjun gave her a look, then shook his head, “Karan and I were looking for our suspect and we went to a warehouse. There was a scuffle and a guy had a knife.”
Sakshi gave a long-suffering sigh, “I have told you several times to be careful.”
Arjun looked at her questioningly, “This is the first time I came to your flat after…”
He didn’t need to complete the sentence, Sakshi knew what incident he was referring to.
“Well, even when you worked at ETF I used always to tell you to be careful, but you…god. Anyways where was Karan when you got hurt? He should’ve taken you to the hospital.”
Arjun gave her a hint of a smile, even before he left ETF for good he used to do that, only for her.
“The police came there and so we had to part ways.”
Sakshi shook her head.
After the doctor gave them clearance, they went back to Sakshi’s flat. Sakshi parked her scooty and Arjun moved to leave the apartment building.
“Wait, Arjun?” she called and he turned to look at her quizzingly. “You just can’t leave like this after showing up at my doorstep covered in blood.” she rested her hands on her hips and Arjun sighed.
“What do you want then?” he asked.
Sakshi smiled, “have you eaten anything since morning?”
Arjun looked away, “no.”
“Come on then.”
~~~
“Do you even eat nowadays? Or just brood in that garage?” she asked as she saw him eat the fish curry with rice. She never imagined that one night he would be sitting at her dining table eating the leftover food she had in her fridge.
Arjun looked at her with a raised brow, “how do you know about the garage?”
Sakshi smirked, “I know everything, Arjun.”
He shook his head and took his next bite, “Karan got a new electric kettle so we eat cup noodles mostly.”
Sakshi chuckled, “That’s unhealthy, but at least you eat.”
After a few minutes of silence, Sakshi spoke up again, “You could come back, you know?”
Arjun looked at her again, “I don’t think so.”
Sakshi gave him a desperate look, “but why not? You are still an ACP and Sameer misses you.”
“Rathore misses me? After what happened?” he gave a mirthless chuckle.
Sakshi accepted her defeat, “I know, Sameer was too harsh.”
“I don’t blame him, I would’ve done the same if our places were reversed.”
Sakshi thought about that incident. The way Arjun was framed for conspiracy to plan the murder of his team members and being involved in organ trafficking. He was arrested on fake charges the morning he was supposed to get a bravery medal. It was a good thing that the team came to know about the bombs beforehand so they escaped the fate of dying, but that didn’t stop some powerful people from putting Arjun behind bars.
The law he had served with loyalty for years betrayed him. They treated him like an insect who needed to be removed from their path. And it was Arjun himself who proved his innocence by escaping police custody. He then partnered with Karan of all people to bring Prachand Dev down, who was the mastermind behind the organ trafficking and the bombs which were supposed to kill the ETF team. That day had been insane, somehow Rathore came back to Mumbai and he wanted to arrest Arjun but once his innocence was proven Sameer had just forgotten all about the case. Sakshi didn’t blame Arjun was leaving ETF for good after that.
“Wait, you said at the hospital that the police came after you, so you decided to come to my place. The journalist who works with the ETF?” She exclaimed.
Arjun finished his food, “And?”
“What if I handed you to the police?”
“Then who will help you catch criminals?” he raised an eyebrow, and Sakshi was stunned for a second. Even though she shouldn't, she would sometimes discuss some current cases with him which were assigned to ETF and take his opinions on them. She didn’t want him to feel abandoned and he was still the same ACP Arjun Rawte who could solve any case with his sharp wits.
“Hey, I know more people who could help me with that.” she retorted back.
Arjun raised his brows, “who?”
Sakshi rolled her eyes, “okay, you win. Happy?”
Arjun shrugged. Acting like the akhdhu ACP she knew. Her heart fluttered at that and she wished they could go back to the days when Arjun was still the second-in-command of the ETF. She would wake up every morning and wait to meet him at the office then. But now, she would only see him once or twice a month, and that too at random locations where no one could identify him. Their friendship had grown over time after Arjun went rogue but still, she felt bad for him that his one dream, of being a dutiful police officer, was snatched away from him. Now he was reduced to a private detective who worked with small-time criminals like Karan.
“Arjun, you can come to my place like this, okay? Just contact me before you do, or if it’s an emergency like today you just come knocking.”
Arjun nodded, “thanks.”
“No need.” she smiled.
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